http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-040203citizens_wr,1,769181.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia%2Dmanual
Marines Granted Posthumous Citizenship
The two, Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, were killed in combat in Iraq.
From Associated Press
1:09 PM PST, April 2, 2003
They died for America as immigrant foreign nationals, but they will be buried as citizens.
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services signed papers today granting posthumous citizenship to Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, who were killed in combat in Iraq.
The families of the two men were not present and the media was not allowed to attend the citizenship signing by the bureau's acting director, Eduardo Aguire.
"Once they have been signed, depending on what the families and the Marines want, we will present the certificates to the families," said bureau spokesman Ron Rogers.
Gutierrez, 22, of Lomita, died March 21 at the port city of Umm Qasr, becoming one of the first casualties of war.
When he was 14, Gutierrez crossed into California after taking trains from Guatemala through Mexico. The orphan found a foster family, attended high school in Southern California and then joined the Marine Corps. He was assigned as an infantry rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Gutierrez's family said they were waiting for the paperwork before setting a date for a memorial service in Los Angeles.
"We're proud as a family that he was able to become a citizen because that's one of the things he wanted to do. And we are honored," Lillian Cardenas, his foster sister, told The Associated Press.
Gutierrez's body was to remain in Delaware until arrangements between the United States and Guatemala were finalized, family members said.
Garibay, 21, of Costa Mesa, died March 23 in Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad. He was a native of Jalisco, Mexico, whose family moved to the United States when he was a baby. Garibay joined the Marines three years ago and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Garibay's family was awaiting the return of his remains. Once returned, the family will hold a memorial service in Costa Mesa, the family said.
Several telephone calls by The AP to Camp Pendleton, which is coordinating the citizenship requests, were not immediately returned.
Marine Maj. Brian Dolan, who has been helping the Garibay family, told The Orange County Register that the Marine Corps facilitated the citizenship process after Garibay's mother, Simona, mentioned that it was her son's dream to become a citizen.
"I took that on as something we possibly could help out with and do the right thing," Dolan said, adding that Garibay's mother is also in the process of becoming a citizen.
"Her son died fighting for this country, so I certainly think it is warranted that her son gained citizenship and is buried as an American citizen," Dolan said.